Then starting August 16, cartoons and educational programs will take over SNC’s weekend morning programming. SNC’s ‘Kids Weekend’ will feature the return of ‘Sesame Street’ to Philippine television, as well as other memorable cartoons such as the ‘Care Bears’, ‘Strawberry Shortcake’, ‘Batman’ and the DC Comics Universe, and ‘Pokemon’.

With all these developments, does this mean the old Radio Philippines Network name will return on the air? Or will this lead to an even bigger plan?

Let’s face it, Channel 9 is and will always be known as RPN-9. Not Solar News Channel, C/S 9, Solar TV, ETC, or any other incarnation in its history. RPN has been an iconic brand on Philippine television, and through good times and bad, the network always provided a great show for its viewers.

More importantly, with SNC’s slow move away from a purely news-oriented network, the possibility of bringing back the RPN name on air seems certain. Even the revival of the long-running but recently retired newscast ‘NewsWatch’ is bound to happen.

But there is one problem. Ramon Ang recently acquired a 30% stake of GMA Network, which means that he now has two stations in his watch. According to Media Newser Philippines, a merger between GMA and Solar News is inevitable, unless Ang gives up partial ownership of Channel 9.

Ang’s ownership of both networks will certainly affect the fortunes of both parties. Since GMA News and Public Affairs is the more recognizable and more credible of the two, they will be more than happy to absorb Solar News into their department. And as far as viewers are concerned, Solar News remains an unproven commodity even after three years of continuous operation.

Then again, these are all possibilities and might be subject to change in the near future.

It is clear that the sun is definitely setting on Channel 9’s latest incarnation. As the ‘Solar’ name is quietly being retired from the brand, a new era in the history of the Radio Philippines Network is about to take place.

Their best years were during the Marcos years, prior to the infamous sequestration. Once they were sequestrated by Cory Aquino’s government, things went downhill, although the likes of Battle of the Brains, Pen Pen de Sarapen, NewsWatch, MariMar and Kwarta o Kahon kept them relevant until it’s too late.

And also, don’t forget “Champoy,” starring Subas Herrero (+) and Noel Trinidad, which was one of RPN’s top-raters during its heyday in the 1980s (until the show was axed in 1985 for a bunch of reasons).

I read in other blogs and comments that it was rumored that “Champoy” was cancelled in 1985 by Roberto Benedicto, then RPN 9 owner, because some of the show’s gags were allegedly not amusing to the Marcos regime, while it entertained the middle class, intellectuals, and masses of that time.

Anyway, still in the subject of “Champoy,” I saw in YouTube, since May 2011, video clips featuring some old episodes of the mentioned gag show, uploaded by “betaxfer1 (he also uploaded some old video clips of “PEP Talk,” “Ryan Ryan Musikahan,” “Uncle Bob & Friends,” “Champoy,” “Penthouse Live!,” and a reenactment of the old “Tawag ng Tanghalan” in the TV special of P&G Philippines’ 50th anniversary in 1985 (I don’t know what channel was it aired, but I knew it’s not on RPN 9 since the said footage did not feature RPN’s clock)).”

Now, regarding about RPN News (News9 for Manila), according to a 1982 TV guide from Sun.Star Cebu (its exact date is Nov. 26, 1982) which I saw in the said newspaper’s library, RPN 9 Cebu used to air “Newswatch Cebuano Edition,” which airs on weekdays from 7:30-8:00 a.m. I don’t know, though, how long did that newscast last, year-wise.

But what really made RPN 9 the remarkable channel to watch during its heyday was the clock, which was usually situated on the lower-left corner of the TV screen, with the time being provided by Seiko or Citizen. The time of that clock was usually set in 24-hour mode (meaning to say, if the time is 12:19 p.m., it is shown as ‘0:19’), and was first used in the 70’s until 2007, after Solar began to blocktime the station. The RPN clock really served as a tool for Filipinos who want to know the time but doesn’t have a grandfather clock or a watch.

Although, the TV clock itself proved to be obsolete since people can still afford a cheap clock in their rooms. While RPN emphasized the need for time, it made no difference at all. Sorry, but that’s not the advantage for them.

Based on d philippine history of television rpn9 was d original number1 tv stations from 1960s to 1990s.headed by their great shows like superstar,bagong kampeon,budy en sol,young luv sweet luv,flordeluna,marimar,ma la del barrio,luz clarita,newswatch,arangkada balita,even john en marcha and eat bulaga,anime 1st come from them dragon ball,ben10,voltes5.if channel will become rpn9 for sure many will support it.so pls bring back d rpn9 coz we miss it so much.

Actually that network, along with BBC and IBC, was controlled by the cronies of Marcos, so competition between the three networks was never a problem. Mapupunta naman kasi at the time ang earnings ng tatlong istasyon sa mga kaibigan ni Marcos. After all, they didn’t care who’s No. 1 between them.

Once RPN was sequestered, however, their fortunes gradually fell, although the presence of MariMar in the mid-90s briefly gave them life. Pero the ownership of the government hurt RPN, and it only got worse once Solar acquired majority ownership and subsequently dropped the RPN name on-air.

And because RPN 9 was no. 1 in the 1970’s and 1980’s (as well as in the 90’s), there were a lot of advertisers. Truly, it was the real “masa” TV station since majority of those who watched RPN are the masses.

They can revive RPN, but not the old shows you were suggesting. Basta yung NewsWatch (sorry Arangkada, but NewsWatch is the anchor of RPN’s news programs) pwede nilang ibalik, tapos some new shows to boot.

AFAIK, all local shows on 9 are currently produced by Solar. The RPN name remains inactive on air, even though it is the official name of the network, and they have nothing to do with the production of Solar’s shows.

I don’t think that’s gonna happen anytime soon. With the intense competition among the major networks, the best that they can do for now is to establish a niche following, then they can starting thinking of expanding their programming.

I still remember when i was a kid during 80s time many tv stations are competing with all most d same format of tv programs specially entertainment shows abscbn,gma,abc now tv5,ibc and rpn9.i understand that d concept of 9tv is d same with solar news channel.but for me since they already change solar into 9tv a little bit they can produce some local tv shows specially in tagalog language thats actually good for d masa.

(I hope I’m in the right place where I can talk about CNNPH) like I’ve said, CNNPH needs to power up their effort to be one of the well-organized CNN franchises. It’s been almost 6 months since they debuted, and the only development that I saw this month, is a new daily talk show entitled: Real Talk which premieres on September 7 at 4pm replacing the afternoon edition of Serbisyo All Access.

Sorry, but you’re at the wrong place again. Perhaps you should read this article first before you can comment on something more relevant. I don’t want you to be like Mr. Sunday who comments on something unrelated and only on specific topics.

Now before ALC acquired Channel 9, we were hoping for the return of the old RPN-9. The RPN-9 that we know was destroyed by the sequestration of the government, the post-EDSA rise of ABS-CBN and GMA, and eventually the entry of Solar into the mix. Remember that. Not to mention the network’s flagship newscast in NewsWatch, which was on air for 40 years or so before it was scrapped in favor of Solar’s news programs. RPN-9 used to be a lively TV station. Now they’re a shell of their former self with that corporate takeover.

Cory kasi sequestered both RPN and IBC because the owners of both networks were cronies of Marcos. Of course, Cory wanted to strip the Marcos influence out of both networks, hence the infamous sequestration that led to their decline.

It’s also interesting to know that while RPN was on the verge of decline, it was able to air awards nights (Gawad Urian(?) is an example), since the New Vision 9 eras. This continued in the 1990s, even after New Vision 9 was rebranded again as RPN in 1994. Zim Cleanser and Farlin Baby Care Products were the primary sponsors of such TV specials.

What would be the scenario if “Superstar” and “John en Marsha” would transfer to ABS-CBN (upon the sequesteration of RPN-9 and its rebrand as “New Vision 9” in 1989)? (We already knew naman that “Superstar” moved to IBC-13 in 1989 as “The Legend Superstar (though short-lived),” while “John en Marsha” got cancelled in 1990.)

That would be one superstar and one show too many. ABS was aiming towards the future at that point, so it was pointless if both shows were to move to ABS, considering the network is busy creating their own shows and stars.